Heading to Yongzhou

Lu Feng slowly opened his eyes.

The total amount of True Essence in his body was much less than the previous Nei Jin, even less than one-tenth of the original amount.

However, he could clearly sense that the power contained in each point of True Essence was incomparable to Nei Jin.

He tried to activate his True Essence and unleash the Cold Plum Jin.

With a single palm strike, the chilling power emanating from his palm was more than ten times stronger than before.

He then activated the Immeasurable Golden Body Art, and a pale golden halo appeared, so solid it was almost tangible.

"The power of True Essence far surpasses that of Nei Jin, but its total amount is far less," Lu Feng muttered to himself.

"It seems that we can't afford to waste our special moves as carelessly as before, for the time being."

He used to be able to hold his own against Jiang Han for an hour and fight Lu Shuang for a whole hour because of the recovery speed of the Five Elements Primordial Chaos Art and the prowess of his Nei Jin.

However, although the recovery speed of True Essence is still far superior to that of others of the same level, the consumption of True Essence itself has also increased exponentially.

Killing moves like the Nine Extremes Heaven-Breaking Slash and the Phantom Sword Art, once unleashed at full power, consume several times the energy as before.

He had to readjust to the rhythm of True Essence and recalculate the consumption and benefits of each move.

Lu Feng did not get up, but continued to sit cross-legged, making the most of every second to adapt to the new power within his body.

Meanwhile, in another cave, Su Ying was sitting on the edge of the bed, her face flushing red and then turning pale.

"Damn Lu Feng! He actually wanted to make someone take off their clothes..."

She bit her lip and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

She looked down at herself; the inner armor she wore was as thin as a cicada's wing, faintly emitting a shimmering light.

This is Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact given to her by her father, Su Xuanqing, and it's called the Cloud Gauze Armor.

With her current cultivation level, she was unable to unleash its power, but even so, this inner armor could withstand a full-force attack from a Celestial Person Realm expert.

"Did Lu Feng not know that my Spirit Artifact was inner armor, or was he doing it on purpose?"

Su Ying rolled halfway around on the bed, clutching the blanket, burying her face in the pillow, and mumbled,

"If he did it on purpose, then he's too... too wicked."

She tossed and turned, finally drifting off to sleep in the middle of the night.

The next morning, everyone arrived at the square on time.

Lu Feng spotted Su Ying immediately. She had dark circles under her eyes. Curious, Lu Feng moved closer.

"Senior sister, didn't you sleep well last night?"

"It's all your fault!"

Su Ying rolled her eyes at him, her tone carrying a hint of reproach that was hard to define.

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

She sensed Lu Feng's aura again, and her eyes widened suddenly:

You've broken through to the Grandmaster?!

"Um."

Lu Feng nodded. For him, this was a natural progression.

Su Ying was stunned for several seconds.

She knew better than anyone how long Lu Feng had only recently Hua Jin Perfection.

It takes others at least three to five years, or even a lifetime, to progress from the Hua Jin Perfection to Grandmaster.

He, on the other hand, fought two matches, took a nap, and broke through to the Grandmaster as easily as drinking water.

At this speed, catching up with her is only a matter of time.

"It's not just me."

Lu Feng gestured with his lip towards his back.

"Most of the people who reached the Hua Jin Realm this time have broken through."

Su Ying followed his gaze.

As expected, Jiang Han, Lin Jingfeng, and the others all possessed significantly stronger auras than yesterday, firmly establishing themselves at the Early Grandmaster.

Lu Shuang, on the other hand, broke through directly to the Mid-Stage Grandmaster.

The most exaggerated one was Zhao Changgeng. He stood at the edge of the crowd, his aura deep and imposing, and he was already at the Great Early Grandmaster.

Before long, Xiao Tianqi, Song Xuanji, and several other key figures arrived at the scene.

The group stood in order behind their respective leaders, and no one spoke. A solemn atmosphere of impending departure filled the square.

"Is everyone here?"

Song Xuanji glanced around, then took out a small gray boat, about the size of a palm, from his sleeve.

The small boat was entirely grayish-white and looked unremarkable. Song Xuanji tossed it into the air, and the boat swelled in the wind, instantly transforming into a giant boat tens of feet long, hovering in mid-air and casting a large shadow.

"This is the top-grade Spirit Artifact Wind-Breaking Boat? It can even change size at will!" A murmur of surprise rippled through the plaza.

"Spirit Artifact can change size at will."

Before Su Ying could answer, Xiao Tianqi, who was standing next to her, offered an explanation.

Lu Feng nodded thoughtfully.

His gaze followed the Wind-Breaking Boat from bow to stern; its hull was covered with dense array patterns that gleamed faintly in the rising sun.

Soon, guided by headquarters staff, everyone began boarding the ship.

Just as Lu Feng was about to take a step, Xiao Tianqi suddenly called out to him.

Lu Feng.

Xiao Tianqi turned around, his tone more serious than usual.

"If you can help my Northern Demon-Slaying Bureau secure first place overall on this trip to Yongzhou, I'll personally reward you with a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact. How about it?"

Lu Feng was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up:

"Is your statement true, sir?"

Would I lie to you?

Xiao Tianqi chuckled, a rare hint of kindness appearing on his wrinkled face.

"I've seen your performance in the ring this time."

"The Northern Demon-Slaying Bureau hasn't produced a top-ranked expert at the Hua Jin Realm for many years. While Spirit Artifact are rare, if they can bring about the revival of the North City, it's worth it."

"Thank you, sir!" Lu Feng quickly clasped his hands in thanks.

"Uncle Xiao, what about me?" Su Ying peeked out from the side.

"You want it?"

Xiao Tianqi glanced at her and snorted.

Ask your father.

Su Ying pursed her lips and remained silent.

She certainly doesn't lack Spirit Artifact; she's still wearing the Cloud Gauze Armor.

However, this feeling of being treated differently made her slightly dissatisfied.

"Let's board the ship."

Xiao Tianqi said no more, and with a swift movement, he landed on the Wind-Breaking Boat.

Lu Feng and Su Ying followed closely behind.

Song Xuanji stood at the bow of the boat, glanced around at everyone, and his aged yet resonant voice rang out in the morning breeze:

"Everyone's here. Let's go!"

The hull of the Wind-Breaking Boat trembled slightly before slowly rising into the air.

At first, it didn't seem like much, but once the giant ship really picked up speed, the scenery around the ship instantly turned into countless blurry lines, as if the whole person had been thrown into a tunnel of light.

The ship contains more than a dozen rooms of varying sizes, distributed across two decks.

Song Xuanji gathered everyone in the center of the deck and gave them a brief instruction:

"Rooms on the ship are limited. Each city's leader or elder will have one room, and disciples will share a room within their respective cities."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Ying let out a soft "ah," so quiet that only she could hear it.

Is it in the same city?

Does that mean she and Lu Feng will be spending three days in the same room?

The tips of her ears gradually turned red, and she muttered to herself unconsciously:

"That's not... going to be with that guy Lu Feng..."

"Senior sister, what did you say?" Lu Feng didn't hear clearly and turned his head to ask.

"Nothing! I meant... ah!"

Just as Su Ying was about to come up with an excuse, the Wind-Breaking Boat suddenly accelerated, and the entire ship surged forward.

She lost her balance and fell backward.